I hope you’re right. While you’re at it, are you at all able put me at ease on this. Even if, somehow, we manage to get up to a similar physical standard as the elite teams, what’s he going to do about the technical side of our game? I.e our brutal short and long passing. Complete inability to win any sort of ball in the forwards. Our lack of ability to take a man on, beat him, and chip it over. We scored 10 points from play in the forwards. Danny scored 5 of them. Keaney got 2. He’ll be 36 by the time we see the fruits of the physical work as you say.

Very very good question, and increasingly looking like the elephant in the room for Dublin hurling.

What exactly are we rebuilding. Bar Danny and Conal there’s no one there that wasn’t there under GC. Lot of lads look to have gone backwards. Mcmorrow, Rushe, Barrett in particular. Cuala lads can’t come back quick enough. And I’m a northsider!

Yep, agree, you’d kind of hope that the standard will rise when the Cuala lads come back. Better opponents in training means improvement. Also, I figure that’s where Anto Cunningham will come in too. Fitness, touch, physicality were all very, very poor tonight. Lots of work to do. I’m not hopeful of a big turn around come championship time, but I accepted that this was always going to be a circa 18 month revolution.

Ger Cunningham was most certainly the problem. He hollowed out or drove away the experienced lads and forced young lads who were not ready, into the fray, to get burned. The problem now is that Gilroy is clearly not the solution. It kills me to say it. I wanted a Dub in charge. It was a kind of a crazy dream that one of our own could do it. I know it’s early and it will take more than one year but when I look at what is happening now, I fear the worst. Giller cannot read a hurling match and either Cunningham can’t either or he is not being listened to. Even with the players we have, team selections are crazy and the changes and substitutions made- and not made- are even worse. This could get very bad.

A major problem for us is that while we look to be going backwards, our peers are improving at an alarming rate. Galway Tipp KK Clare Waterford Wexford and Cork we knew about. Limerick have their house in order big time now too. Were nowhere near any of them and I don’t mean on a map.

As many as Ger blooded, he never had to go as far as some of those selected this year. 2 extremely moderate club hurlers have started all 3 league games and don’t have youth to excuse themselves. At least 5 of today’s starters would not make any other top hurling county training panel much less match day 26… harsh perhaps but management both current and past are not the only problem the standard of Dublin hurling Cuala excepted is too low from which to build a good county side

Christ how hard is it for a Dublin player to pick a ball up first time…

We really need to address so many issues now but to give ourselves a chance of winning games we need to shore up the defence.We’ve conceded an average of 1-24 after playing Limerick, Offaly and Antrim. I’d hate to see what the better sides would do to our backs.

And then the old problem up the other end is still killing us as we’ve only scored 1 goal so far in the league.

Unfortunately Dublin are a team who need their best 20 week in week out in order to be competitive. How many Cuala lads decide to join the panel would be questionable because it looks a shambles at the minute. Whoever is in charge of the game plan at the minute needs to be questioned. We have a 100 yard plus striker of a ball in Nolan striking the ball 20-40 yards to some players who are not capable of controlling a pass.
We have what at times seems to be a one man full forward line starved of decent ball.
We have decent ball winners by-passed. We have lads not capable of scoring points from 50-20 yards. We create no goalscoring opportunities.
Are there any positives at the minute?

There are some positives. A number of the people who left/were pushed are back and looking good. There are several players not yet fit. I think it takes a few years to make the leap from club to county strength and fitness and some of our new players just need time. It should be done under the shelter of the established players not by being exposed. Some of them will make it yet.
I think the management is not yet trying to put the best available team out, but they might now have realised that wins or at least good performances are needed to sustain morale.
Worst thing tonight was the madness of putting Rushe up front.

Garbage, but 3 months in to a 3 year cycle in fairness. Biggest concern is the technical errors, lads not picking up balls, misplaced passes, bad wides etc. Can’t blame Gilroy or Cunningham or Cuala for that

I’ve never opened my mouth about this management team that includes 3 dubs who are trying their best and putting in a huge effort for the good of Dublin hurling…but this is what happens when you put a football management team in charge of a hurling team. Gilroy, Whelan and O’Donoughe are not up to it In regards to intercounty hurling.

No strategy was the biggest disappointment, and why were Nolans puckouts so high ? It gave the Limerick back line all day to get in position. The Limerick puck outs were excellent and there was a clear tactic/strategy. Gilroy/Cunningham have to be held accountable for this aspect surely ?

I’m not sure of the political side of things but we had an option of putting Mattie Kenny, Shay Boland, Joe Fortune and other hurling people involved (that have been successful with clubs and underage hurling sides)into a setup and we chose Pat. Maybe they wouldn’t work either based on what we have available but I’m sure we would see Ryan, Dillon, etc involved tonight rather than what was taken on. Players like Gray and young Crummey did well In Walsh Cup and others brought on before them. We will have to stick with it and back it now as it’s decision made but having not seen the game tonight this is treacherous reading. Cuala lads needed back ASAP but those mentioning the Shutte’s are imagining. Paul has a bad leg injury and Mark will be with the big ball.

Our subs tonight. Leaving aside the Rushe to full/corner forward nonsense. And 2 forced changes (O Carroll and Connolly). Seemed to me that there were no tactical changes, and McMorrow the only one replaced for playing poorly. Were none of the other subs fit? Were they all doing weight sessions this afternoon? Connolly came off in the 67th min iirc. Why was there no action taken on the rest of the team before that?